Tag: mona

How popular is the baby name Mona in the United States right now? How popular was it historically? Find out using the graph below! Plus, see baby names similar to Mona and check out all the blog posts that mention the name Mona.

The graph will take a few seconds to load, thanks for your patience. (Don't worry, it shouldn't take nine months.) If it's taking too long, try reloading the page.

A few weeks ago, I got an email from a reader looking for lists of old-fashioned double names. She was aiming for names like Thelma Dean, Eula Mae, and Gaynell — names that would have sounded trendy in the early 1900s. She also mentioned that she’d started a list of her own.

So I began scouring the interwebs. I tracked down lists of old-fashioned names, and lists of double names…but I couldn’t find a decent list of double names that were also old-fashioned.

I loved the idea of such a list, though, so I suggested that we work together to create one. She generously sent me the pairings she’d collected so far, and I used several different records databases to find many more.

I restricted my search to names given to girls born in the U.S. from 1890 to 1930. I also stuck to double names that I found written as single names, because it’s very likely that these pairings were used together in real life (i.e., that they were true double names and not merely first-middle pairings).

Pairings that seemed too timeless, like Maria Mae and Julia Rose, were omitted. I also took out many of the pairings that feature now-trendy names — think Ella, Emma, and Lucy — because they just don’t sound old-fashioned anymore (though they would have a few decades ago).

The result isn’t exhaustive, but it’s a decent sampling of real-life, old-fashioned double names. I’ve organized them by second name, and I also added links to popularity graphs for names that were in the SSA data during the correct time period (early 1900s).

Una
Una Merkel was an actress who appeared in films from the 1920s to the 1960s. She was born in Kentucky in 1903. Una Trevelyn was an actress who appeared in films in the 1910s and 1920s. She was born in Tennessee in 1896. Una was also a character name in multiple films, including Paradise Garden (1917) and Bonds of Love (1919).

Userti
Userti was a character played by actress Arlette Marchal in the film The Moon of Israel (1924). The film was based on the novel Moon of Israel (1918) by H. Rider Haggard.

Ustane
Ustane was a character played by actress Miriam Fouche in the film She (1917) and by Mary Odette in She (1925). The films were based on the novel She: A History of Adventure (1887) by H. Rider Haggard.

…So which list of U-names do you prefer, this one or the 7 Usable U-Names from a few weeks ago?

Willette Kershaw (1882-1960)Time for more unusual female names from old films!

Here’s something I didn’t know until recently: many (most?) of the “Indian maiden” characters in early movies had names starting with W. As a result, about half of the names below refer to Native American characters specifically. I’m not sure how many of these Native American names are legit, though. If you can verify any of them, please leave a comment.

Wah-na-gi
Wah-na-gi was a character played by actress Anita King in the film The Squaw Man’s Son (1917).

Wahnah
Wahnah was a character played by actress Mona Darkfeather in the short film Kidnapped by Indians (1914).

Wah-tah
Princess Wah-tah was a character played by actress Yvonne De Carlo in the film The Deerslayer (1943).

Wah-ta-wah
Wah-ta-wah was a character played by actress Aline Goodwin in the film serial Leatherstocking (1924).

Wahtonka
Wahtonka was a character played by actress Claire Du Brey in the film Dakota (1945).

Wahtunka
Wahtunka was a character played by actress Mona Darkfeather in the short film Brought to Justice (1914).

Walmura
Walmura was a character played by actress Mona Darkfeather in the short film The Fate of a Squaw (1914).

Walpurga
Walpurga was a character played by actress Mrs. A. C. Marston in the short film On the Heights (1914).

Wamba
Wamba was a character name in multiple films, including Wamba, a Child of the Jungle (short, 1913) and Justice of the Far North (1925).

Wambi
Wambi was a character played by actress Lule Warrenton in the short film The Queen of Jungle Land (1915).

Wana
Wana was a character played by actress Alice Joyce in the short film The Indian Maid’s Sacrifice (1911).

Wanama
Wanama was a character played by actress Armida in the film Jungle Goddess (1948).

Wanana
Wanana was a character played by actress Marie Walcamp in the short film A Daughter of the Redskins (1914).

Wanda
Wanda Hawley was an actress who appeared in films from the 1910s to the 1930s. She was born in Pennsylvania in 1895. Wanda McKay was an actress who appeared in films mainly in the 1940s. She was born in Oregon in 1915. Wanda was also a character name in multiple films, including The One-Way Trail (1920) and Men Are Such Fools (1938).

Wowkle
Wowkle was a character played by actress Anita King in the film The Girl of the Golden West (1915), by Neola May in The Girl of the Golden West (1930), and by Ynez Seabury in The Girl of the Golden West (1938). The film was based on the play The Girl of the Golden West (1905) by David Belasco, who found the name Wowkle in the writings of ethnographer Stephen Powers, who claimed the name meant “fox” among the Nisenan of California.

Wyllis
Wyllis Hyde was a character played by actress Pauline Starke in the film The Argument (1918).

Wynne
Wynne Gibson was an actress who appeared in films from the 1920s to the 1940s. She was born in New York in 1898. Wynne was also a character played by actress Anita Louise in the film Lady Tubbs (1935).

You missed the Unicorn Frappuccino boat a few weeks ago, so now you’re determined to try some other Starbucks magical creature beverage…but you’re not sure which. Dragon? Mermaid?

You chat about this conundrum with a friendly pregnant lady standing nearby in line. Her drink order is already picked out, but one thing she hasn’t picked out yet is a name for the baby. Here’s the gist of what she’s looking for:

I want to follow a family tradition and give my daughter a hyphenated first name, but I don’t want it to be a familiar combination or too long and laboured. I prefer names that are straightforward but uncommon, like Mona or Maris.

“Do you have any suggestions?”

As a name-lover, you could potentially give her dozens of pairings on the spot. But the line is moving pretty quickly, so you only have time to give her five suggestions before you reach the register.

But here’s the fun part: Instead of blurting out the first five names you come up with (which is what you’d have to do in real life) you get to press a magical “pause” button, brainstorm for a bit, and then “unpause” the scenario to offer her the best five names you can think of.

As you come up with your names, keep these things in mind:

Be independent. Decide on your five hyphenated names (a.k.a. your ten names in five pairings) before looking at anyone else’s five names.

Be sincere. Would you honestly suggest these particular baby names out loud to a stranger in a Starbucks?

Five(ish) names only! I will replace all names beyond the first five (read: ten) in your comment with nonsense words.

Finally, here’s the request again:

I want to follow a family tradition and give my daughter a hyphenated first name, but I don’t want it to be a familiar combination or too long and laboured. I prefer names that are straightforward but uncommon, like Mona or Maris.